ACE Electoral Knowledge Network

Boundary Delimitation Quiz

1. Which of the following principles should be used to guide the delimitation process?
   
   

   equality of voting strength
   independent and impartial boundary authority
   transparency
   non-discrimination
   All of the above
   

2. True or False. The delimitation of voting areas has a minimal effect on election outcomes.
   
   

   True
   False
   

3. Districts intentionally drawn to give advantage to one political party or group at the expense of the others is known as:
   
   

   Gerrymandering
   Reciprocity
   Enumeration
   Malapportionment
   

4. Which of the following is NOT considered a comparative advantage to drawing boundaries in multi-member districts?
   
   

   reflects administrative divisions or communities of interest within the country;
   need not change boundaries, even if the population of a district increases or decreases, because the number of representatives elected from the district can be altered;
   increases the accountability of individual representatives
   are essential for achieving proportional representation, although not all multimember district systems produce proportional representation for political parties;
   tends to produce more balanced representation by encouraging the nomination of a diverse roster of candidates.
   

5. According to a recent survey [conducted by IFES], which of the following electoral systems is least likely to specifically delimit districts?
   
   

   First Past the Post (FPTP) Systems
   Two Round Systems (TRS)
   List Proportional Representation (List PR)
   Alternative Vote (AV) and Block Vote (BV) Systems
   Parallel and Mixed Member Proportional (MMP) Systems
   

6. True or False. The members of a boundary delimitation committee should never have political or partisan ambitions.
   
   

   True
   False
   

7. Of the countries that periodically delimit boundaries, the most popular timeframe is:
   
   

   1 year
   5 years
   10 years
   12 years
   

8. True or False. The most widely accepted rule for redistricting is that districts should be relatively equal in population.
   
   

   True
   False
   

9. Which of the following is not a common method used in delimiting electoral boundaries?
   
   

   Collection of population data and maps
   Review of voting history among minority populations
   allocation of seats to sub-regions of a country
   drawing district lines within a region
   creation of a redistricting database
   

10. What are considered to be two problems with allowing states or provinces to retain more seats than population alone would dictate?
    
    

    the size of the legislature could become unwieldy and the population or electoral quota can vary considerably across states or provinces.
    districts must be redrawn on a regular basis to maintain populations of relatively equal size and the population or electoral quota can vary considerably across states or provinces
    the size of the legislature could become unwieldy and enables redistricters to create a districting plan that may favour one political party at the expense of others
    None of the above